AscendEX under suspicion: withdrawal delays and shortage of assets in wallets
This week, alarm has once again flared up in the crypto community around the AscendEX exchange (formerly known as BitMax). My analysis of on-chain data and user complaint flows points to serious operational failures: withdrawals are delayed from several days to several weeks. These are not isolated incidents but mass reports, indicating a systemic issue.
When checking the exchange's known hot wallets through Arkham and TRM platforms, I discovered a critical shortage of key liquid assets: ETH, USDT, and SOL. The balances at these addresses are significantly lower than expected for the normal functioning of a trading platform. This situation is typical of stages when an exchange either faces a sudden outflow of funds or manages its reserves extremely aggressively.
The most likely explanation is liquidity problems. AscendEX, which suffered a hack in 2021, appears to have been unable to fully restore user trust and is now struggling to process withdrawal requests. If this is confirmed, we may see a repeat of the scenario familiar from the collapse of FTX or issues with other centralized platforms, where hidden asset deficits led to a crash.
As of now, there have been no official statements from the AscendEX team, but the silence only fuels suspicions. I recommend that anyone holding funds on this exchange act with extreme caution and consider transferring assets to cold wallets or more reliable platforms. The market does not forgive uncertainty, and in this case, the smell of trouble is too distinct to ignore.